Imaging systems capable of exposing images on media are well known in the art. Commonly, although not exclusively, media are supplied from vendors in stacks of sheets. Slipsheets are interspersed between the media sheets to prevent the sensitive surfaces of the media sheets from adhering to one another or being otherwise damaged. For imaging devices with automated media handling systems it is convenient to load stacks of such media sheets into the imaging device with the slip-sheets in place. The presence of the slipsheets may in some cases aid in the handling of the media allowing adjacent media sheets to slide more easily over each other in loading operations.
The reliable disposal of slipsheets presents a problem for media handling systems. Devices designed to have a large stack of media sheets on-line at any one time must provide some mechanism for accumulating slipsheets for eventual disposal. Slipsheets occupy a significant volume and may cause blockages in the operating of media handlers as more and more slip-sheets are accumulated. Such blockages, while typically easily cleared, represent a reduction in reliability, which in a competitive industry represents a reduction in value to the customer.
There remains a need for better methods and apparatus for handling slipsheets removed from media in loading operations.